Opinion: The Miz is the best mid-carder of all time

Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of The Miz. His SmackDown Live promo work has been great over the past two weeks. I wasn't too keen on another Shane McMahon match at WrestleMania, until I heard The Miz on the Mike (pun intended). The emotion around his father and his falls count anywhere promo, "The only image I see is me ripping Shane McMahon apart limb from limb, piece by piece on the grandest stage of them all."

This has prompted me to think about the mid-card performers of the past couldn't think of anyone else who maintains the quality of the mid-card so well, especially post attitude era. He may never be the main event guy and the face of the company, but when he works in the mid-card against almost anyone, he delivers.

#1 He can sell any mid card feud

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When you think about consistency, crowd reaction, content and the way he sells a feud, The Miz is up there with the greats. He has the ability to have the audience buy into what he says, thanks to his incorporation of true aspects in his promos. He says things like he is there day in, day out grinding and working (True).

He speaks about the love for his family (True). He discusses how he brings titles or other superstars back into relevance or prestige (True). Most other mid-card feuds are textbook. Either a veteran working with a youngster, or based on the ability to have a good match. The Miz brings the emotional investment to a feud and a level of entertainment other mid-carders lack.

When he operates as a heel, which he has been the majority of his career, he ensures the audience actually hates him and wants to see him get beat up. However, his recent face turn was also fueled by the support and appreciation he has been receiving by the WWE universe despite being a heel. He is the most must-see superstar in the mid-card ever.

#2 He makes anyone associated with him look good

The Miz and John Morrison with the tag team titles

The Miz has been put with some random superstars. Every single one of them has benefitted at the time from working with him at the time. The Miz has been Tag Team Champions 5 times with 5 different superstars. Three of them needed the boost from Miz (John Cena was doing fine without him, Shane is Shane, regardless).

John Morrison was a great wrestler but had a mediocre level of charisma. The Dirt Sheet run with Morrison was incredibly entertaining and was a good way for The Miz to showcase his mic skills and in-ring work as an early impression.

The ShowMiz partnership (With The Big Show) was cool as Big Show was able to play monster heel while Miz built the matches and did majority of the in-ring selling. They also unified the tag titles together.

His work with Damien Mizdow served as an amazing comedic act, with Damien Sandow coincidently desperate of a new gimmick after WWE messed up his previous character by booking Sandow to unsuccessfully cash in his Money in the Bank championship match against John Cena.

His work with R-Truth together as the Awesome Truth also elevated their relevance by entering the main event scene alongside The Rock and John Cena at Survivor Series 2011.

If you think about where some of these characters are at the moment, not many are around and certainly not many are as relevant as The Miz currently is. He sits in the mid-card and moves from superstar to superstar doing great work to support the show.

#3 His Feuds and Matches are consistently solid

Daniel Bryan vs The Miz - Summerslam 2018

The great thing about The Miz is that he can have a decent match with anyone. He is probably never going to win match of the year or perform in a 5-Star match, but he puts on entertaining bouts consistently. He has had great feuds with John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Daniel Bryan, Kofi Kingston, John Morrison and Cesaro.

When you think about why audiences watch Raw or SmackDown, it's not just for the main event. There are so many one-off matches and poor booking decisions that can make these shows feel long. Mid-card segments with The Miz are always interesting and he is one of the few superstars that really do develop a feud. Think about his work with Daniel Bryan. Audiences wanted that match for 2 years. When Bryan came back everyone wanted him to feud with The Miz. Not in the main event for the title, but in the mid-card.

His matches tell a story and allow other superstars to look good. Audiences buy in and when he plays the cowardly heel he can get a reaction out of the toughest fan bases (i.e. Chicago, Philadelphia). Audiences boo him out of the stadiums but love to see a chance where he might get what's coming to him. All in all, The Miz has proven his credibility of being a top class heel.

#4 Longevity in the mid-card

The Miz has been a constant draw on Raw or SmackDown for the best part of 12 years. There are so many other talent that WWE had tried to push, only to fail. The Miz takes whatever he is given and makes it great.

This is the reason he has had so many title runs. He has been used to put someone else over many times and still manages to put himself over in the process. 8 Intercontinental Title runs puts him up there with Jericho, Mr Perfect, Honky-Tonk Man and Bret Hart.

Each time he wins the IC Title he makes it prestigious again. It has bounced around some forgetful superstars in the past and his ability to put over the mid-card title is outstanding. Add that to 5 Tag Team Title Runs and 2 U.S. Title Runs, it simply goes to show that he is trusted to hold the mid-card together. When Raw was really flat after WrestleMania last year, as Brock Lesnar retained and then went into hiding again, The Miz held the show together.

So there you have it! The Miz is the greatest mid-carder of all time. His service to the WWE and his consistency in the mid-card make it difficult to choose another superstar. Feel free to leave comments on who you think is the greatest mid-carder of all time.

Edited by Kingshuk Kusari